Sorry if this is a duplicate, but I didn't see my post on the forum. We have a Doubletree Select Suites with 18" fluorescent ceiling lights. Two light bulbs have burnt out, but we are unable to remove...
Had a 07 Elite. I suspect you have the same 18" that I had. Yes you are doing the correct thing....they were hard to remove. I used to work on one side only till it was all off. The biggest problem I had was that the fixture itself would die....the tubes were OK. I replaced quite a few fixtures (ordered from DRV) before converting them to LED.